1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a nest arrangement for poultry comprising at least one housing with walls having at least one passage opening for the poultry. The housing has at least one floor. There is a transporting device for transporting off the laid eggs, which is guided along an edge of the housing floor. The floor is sloped downwards toward the transporting device.
2. The Prior Art
Laying nest arrangements are usually installed in large industrial-type henhouses, so that the eggs laid by the hens can be collected and transported off in an industrial manner. Within the housing of the laying nest arrangement, there is a location for the poultry for laying the eggs. The housing forms a closed room in which the laying hens can enter through at least one passage opening in one of the walls of the housing. Eggs laid on the floor of the housing roll down the floor because of their shape and the incline of the floor. The eggs then roll into the transporting device for removing the eggs, because the floor of the housing is sloped downwards toward the transporting device. The transporting device is, for example a conveyor belt, which receives the eggs rolling down the floor of the housing, and transports such eggs away from the laying nest arrangement.
The floor of the housing is frequently soiled by excrement, residues of fodder and feathers and the like, so that if the downward slope of the housing floor is not steep enough, eggs are retained on the floor of the housing due to the uneven surface as a result of the dirt on the floor. So that eggs can overcome uneven spots via gravity and roll down and onto the transporting device, a steeper downward inclination of the floor is adjusted with known laying nest arrangements. This has the drawback that the eggs roll down at a higher speed because of the steeper downward slope of the housing floor. This occurs especially when the rolling path is relatively long because of a wide or deep housing floor.
Thus, eggs rolling down the floor roll onto the transporting device at high speed and collide there with obstructions such as a lateral limitation of a conveyor belt, or eggs already lying on the conveyor belt. The shocks resulting from such collisions exert forces on the egg shells, which regularly leads to hair fissures in the shells and frequently even to crushing of the shells. Damaged eggs cannot be utilized and cannot be sold to the food trade because of their reduced durability. This results in a high rejection rate in the production of eggs.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a laying nest arrangement of the type specified above that assures a reduction of the rejection rate.
This and other objects are accomplished according to the invention by a laying nest arrangement in which the floor of the housing consists of at least two floor plates that can be swiveled against each other about a swiveling axis that is aligned in parallel with the longitudinal expanse of the transporting device and extending in the plane of the floor of the housing. There is at least one swiveling element that effects a separate swinging movement of each floor plate.
In the laying nest arrangement as defined by the invention, the floor of the housing is not designed in the form of one piece, but it is divided into sections formed by floor plates. For example, the housing floor can be divided in two floor plates that are disposed in one plane to form the entire floor of the housing. Both floor plates can be swiveled against each other, i.e., one floor plate can be swiveled versus the other floor plate. The swiveling axis is disposed in the plane of the floor of the housing. This assures that a coherent housing floor continues to be formed even when the floor plates are swung against each other. The housing floor may consist of two sections with different downward inclinations or sloped positions in relation to the transporting device.
When one floor plate is swiveled versus the other, it has a different angle of inclination with respect to the environment of the housing floor, in particular with respect to the transporting device. In particular, the inclination can be steeper, so that any eggs that are already stuck on the floor plate roll off again. The other floor plate, on the other hand, may have a lesser inclination. The eggs can roll from the floor plate with the greater downward inclination onto the floor plate with the lesser downward inclination, and are not accelerated further, as it is the case with a housing floor with a greater inclination all the way through. This quasi-braking of the eggs is caused by the friction of the eggs on the floor plate, the rolling resistance, which is counteracted by a lower force of forward motion because of the lower friction. This prevents the eggs rolling down from attaining a speed that, in the event of collision with obstructions or other eggs, could lead to mechanical damage to their shells.
Once the eggs have rolled from the floor plate with the greater inclination onto the other floor plate with the lesser inclination, the latter floor plate can also be set to a steeper slope independently of the other floor plate, using a swiveling element. This means that the angle of inclination of the latter floor plate is increased. However, this increase does not take place simultaneously with the increase of the angle of inclination of the first floor plate, but subsequently.
Therefore, the laying nest arrangement as defined by the invention has a housing floor that does not have a uniform downward slope. The inclination of the floor plates is increased separately in the direction of the transporting device. The inclinations are preferably increased in a time sequence, so that eggs rolling down are rolling like on a wave, i.e., the eggs roll from a floor plate with a steeper inclination onto the next-following floor plate with a lower inclination, whereupon the inclination of the latter floor plate is increased, so that an egg cannot remain lying on the latter floor plate and will continue to roll down. Due to the lower inclinations of the floor plates onto which the eggs roll first, the eggs are slowed down, so that damage to the eggs is clearly reduced and the rejection rate is consequently reduced as well.
Because of the alignment of the swiveling axis between the floor plates parallel with the longitudinal expanse of the transporting device, the individual floor plates can be set to an angle of inclination in a sequence that assures that the eggs are carefully guided to the transporting device. For this purpose, the floor plate that is farthest removed from the transporting device is set to a steeper angle first. As an alternative, this floor plate may be permanently set to a steeper inclination. The eggs can then roll from this floor plate onto a floor plate that is closer to the transporting device. By continuously setting the floor plate, and, if need be, additional floor plates to increasingly steeper angles upwards, the eggs can finally roll down to the transporting device because they are always slowed down whenever they seem to reach an excessively high roll-off speed.
Because of the controlled roll-off movements of the eggs, it is possible to produce a housing floor with a larger width, i.e. with a greater depth in the direction of the transporting device. With known laying nest arrangements, a greater width would cause the eggs to reach an excessively high speed over the long roll-off distance. With the laying nest arrangement as defined by the invention, the eggs are prevented from reaching a high speed because they are slowed down by the different angles of inclination of the floor plates. With a greater width, however, it is possible to accommodate a greater number of laying hens in the laying nest arrangement, which offers the substantial advantage that the egg production can be increased.
The separate floor plates of the housing floor can be freely arranged next to each other in one plane. However, it is also possible to connect the floor plates with each other by a joint, for example a hinge, so that the floor plates continue to be capable of swinging against one another. Their swinging movements are guided by the hinge or hinges or other articulated means of a similar type.
For swinging each floor plate separately, one single swinging element is present for each floor plate. For example, a lever or an operating cylinder can serve as the swinging element, which separately engages a floor plate and causes it to swivel. Starting from the floor plate that is located farthest from the transporting device for the eggs, for example, the swiveling elements can be actuated one after the other, so that the inclinations of the floor plates are successively increased. As an alternative, one common swiveling element is available for two floor plates arranged adjacent to each other. Separate swiveling of the two floor plates can be achieved with one swiveling element if the it first engages one floor plate changing its inclination, and subsequently engages the second floor plate in the same way.
According to a further development of the invention, the floor of the housing is pivot-mounted on a tilting axle. The axle is associated with an edge of the housing floor that is closely located to a passage opening. There is also a tilting drive. The floor of the housing can be swiveled not only by and in itself by the various floor plates, but tilted about a tilting axle as a whole. The tilting axle is associated with the edge of the housing floor that is located close to the passage opening, or to several passage openings in a wall of the housing.
When the floor of the housing is tilted about the tilting axle, it is guided from the inside against the passage openings. This closes the passage openings, so that with the floor of the housing in this position, access to the laying nest arrangement is blocked for the hens. During rest time periods, the hens cannot enter the laying nest arrangement and cannot soil it with excrements. Thus, fouling of the floor of the housing and any unevenness of its surface resulting from such soiling are prevented. At the same time, by tilting the floor of the housing, dirt is removed from its surface in that it drips down from the housing floor when the it is set to a vertically tilted position. The housing floor is tilted with a tilting drive designed in a suitable way. The tilting drive can be realized separately from the swiveling elements for swinging the floor plates.
With the present invention, eggs that remained lying on the floor are prevented from being thrown from the laying nest arrangement when the floor of the housing is tilted. The design of the floor makes it advantageously possible to carefully move eggs that remain lying on the floor plates of the housing floor to the transporting device before the housing floor is tilted.
According to a particularly useful embodiment of the invention, the tilting drive comprises a tie rod that is guided past the floor of the housing on the side. The free end of the tie rod is arranged below the floor of the housing and has the swiveling element arranged on it, for example for two floor plates disposed adjacent to each other. In this embodiment, the swiveling elements are integrated in the tilting drive. By actuating the tilting drive, it is possible to simultaneously actuate the swiveling elements and to tilt the floor of the housing. The design structure is simplified because the two moving drives are combined, and because structural components are saved in this way.
The housing of the laying nest arrangement as defined by the invention is arranged on a frame-like rack, so that a space is available below the floor of the housing for arranging a swiveling element there. The swiveling element is arranged on the free end of the tie rod below the floor of the housing, which assures that the surface of the housing floor, which is accessible to the poultry, is free of structural components of the swiveling element. Such components are arranged underneath the floor of the housing and engage the floor from below, specifically its individual floor plates. The tie rod exerts an upward tensile force on the swiveling element. Overall tilting of the housing floor is effected via the tensile force, and the individual floor plates of the housing floor are successively moved into positions of inclination with increasingly steeper angles of slope from one floor plate to the next.
According to a further development of the invention, the swiveling element is an approximately triangular support plate that is pivot-mounted on the free end of the tie rod below the housing floor. One side of the triangular support plate is designed in the form of a support edge for two floor plates. When the tie rod is moved upwards, the support plate, because of the articulated mount on the tie rod, is moved upwards as well, engaging the floor of the housing from below. Due to its pivotal articulation on the tie rod, the support plate can first be in a position of swivel in which its support edge engages one of the two floor plates. This floor plate is farther removed from the transporting device than the other floor plate. Before the tie rod is moved, it is preferably set at a steeper angle upwards, so that eggs can roll from the floor plate onto the other floor plate. When the tie rod is then lifted, the support edge of the triangular support plate engages also the other floor plate and thereby increases the its inclination with respect to the plane of the transporting device. The eggs lying on the floor plate can then roll from the plate and onto the transporting device.
To ensure that the floor plates are swiveled one after the other to change their inclinations, the support edge of the approximately triangular support plate has bevels on both sides, starting from the center of its longitudinal expanse. The bevels interact with the bottom sides of the floor plates, abutting the latter. Because of the swingability of the triangular support plate and the bevels, the one beveled side of the support edge will abut the one floor plate first before the other beveled side of the support edge abuts the adjacent floor plate. The bevels each extend through continuously, so that the beveled section of the support edge is straight.
So that the tie rod is capable of performing a pulling movement upwards, the tilting drive comprises a rocker having the tie rod pivot-mounted on one of its free ends, and having its other free end engaged by a force-transmitting means. Via the force-transmitting means, the rocker can be put into a swinging motion, in the course of which the free end of the rocker is moved upwards. The tie rod is moved upwards in this way, whereupon the swiveling elements, or one swiveling element arranged on its free end below the floor of the housing can engage the bottom side of the housing floor.
The force-transmitting means can be a belt wound on a shaft. The shaft can be put into reversible rotational motion by a suitable drive, whereupon the belt is wound on the shaft or unwound from the shaft, which causes the rocker to swing. Other force-transmitting means such as chains can be employed as well.
According to a further development of the invention, one wall of the housing has at least one passage opening for the poultry, and the transporting device for carting off the laid eggs is arranged on the side of the housing floor opposing the wall of the housing. Through this arrangement, the floor of the housing is inclined downwards toward the transporting device, starting from the passage opening for the poultry. In this way, the transporting device is arranged within the housing, so that the hens are aligned in the direction of the passage opening, facing the opening with their heads, so that the eggs are laid within the zone of the transporting device. The consequence is a shorter distance of roll-off of the egg.
Accordingly, the hens are prevented from facing the interior of the housing with their heads. This substantially reduces the risk of injury of an egg-laying hen by so-called cloak pickers. The cloak points into the laying nest arrangement and cannot be reached from the outside by animals foraging in front of the passage opening. Because the downward inclination of the housing floor is aligned inwards in the direction of the transporting device, the hen laying an egg is sitting on the housing floor with its chest in an elevated position. This arrangement also reduces injuries to the hens.
The transporting device is preferably a known conveyor belt, which can be installed along a plurality of housing floors of a plurality of housings by providing it with the required length.
Several housings can be combined in one group of housings, in which the rockers of the tilting drives associated with each of such housings can be actively connected with a common shaft. For example, housings facing each other can be separated from each other by back walls. A back wall can be arranged above the transporting device for the eggs. This arrangement offers the advantage that the back wall prevents the hens from stepping onto the transporting device and from soiling the latter. The housings can also be arranged in several layers.
A mat may be placed on the floor of the housing. This mat covers the separate floor plates and the spacing formed between the floor plates, in particular the gap. This produces a housing floor with a closed surface. The mat may be provided with elastic naps, which, due to their elasticity, act as a suspension means when an egg is laid, so that the egg is prevented from impacting the floor plate hard.